Brisbane’s Shingle Inn cafés are almost as iconic as the fiercely fought State of Origin series, and this year Shingle Inn will be celebrating the “decider” set to be determined on home soil at Suncorp Stadium.
Unbeknown to many footy fans, Queensland and New South Wales (the sport’s two major states) have in fact been playing representative matches against each other since the 1908 establishment of rugby league in Australia. These games have continued into the “state of origin” era as we know it, which began in the 1980s.
As Shingle Inn was originally opened on Edward Street, Brisbane, in the Autumn of 1936, this means that Queensland and New South Wales rugby league teams had already been challenging each other to matches for quite some years by the time the first patty cake was sold.
It‘s therefore no surprise that Shingle Inn would incorporate another great Brisbane tradition into its culture, by producing seasonal State of Origin biscuits to celebrate the annual best-of-three Australian rugby league football series between two state representative sides, New South Wales “The Blues“ and Queensland “The Maroons“.
Shingle Inn Area Manager Megan Riek has been actively involved for many State of Origin series, made even more exciting by the unique and delicious biscuits sold in Shingle Inn cafés across Queensland at this time of year.
“We introduced the little football player-dressed cookies back in 2002 to great success. Not only are they delicious, they’re detailed right down to their jersey number, and around the Origin series, they are typically purchased en mass for State of Origin parties and good old workplace rivalry,” she said.
“It is to be expected that the maroons coloured biscuits sell out faster, but we know there are some wayward blues supporters in our midst, so there is always demand for the blues biscuits too.”
The State of Origin biscuits can be purchased at all Shingle Inn stores across QLD up until State of Origin and are priced at $3.90